This can be fixed by either making the bottom layer white or creating a second layer and clipping/unclipping it to the bottom or any layer.

I don't like that the background is black and I'd prefer not having to alter the background constantly. This started happening with the 2.03 update and was not changed in the 2.10 update like I'd assumed it would be.

Clipping/unclipping to make the background white does not last forever when you're working. It'll revert to black as soon as you click "new layer"

This is also an issue I have with clipping layers in general.

(As you can see the darker part of the x should be clipped to the lighter part, but because of the added layer it visually unclips. Saving the canvas will keep the clipping as if it doesn't look the way it is.)